Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee (Game Review)

The name Oddworld pretty much describes this game series in a nutshell. It's a classic game like no other to me, and right now I'm talking about it during my childhood whilst writing up some more posts to share for May. Plus I want to try to get back into the habit and routines while also still enjoying and not overwhelming myself.
Check out why Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee is a Playstation treasure.

Set on the mysterious Oddworld, in the sinister meat-processing plant called RuptureFarms lies our hero "Abe" the Mudokon (the race featured in the series) whom is currently in prison for a crime he committed, which is actually everything we are yet to replay. Abe's story is narrated in a sad, regretful and rhythmic past tense telling of his huge journey he went through in one day after discovering a horrifying secret in the factory.
Whilst working late one night, his curiosity got the best of him as he spied on the board meeting between the evil greedy Glukkons of the plant and the mean boss, "Molluck". Abe discovers that with the meat profits going down that the Glukkons have come up with a dark idea to now serve the Mudokon species up as a new product to save the factories business (basically the slave workers are now next on the menu). Abe's astonishing discovery causes him to flee without hesitation but not before being caught on camera.
Now being pursued by every Slig (the security officers) in the factory, Abe is now a fugitive.
This is how his journey begins!

'Oddworld Inhabitants' (the developers) have really created something original and outstanding to many gaming series ever, at least that's what I feel. There are two games on the original PlayStation and the other two are on the original Xbox. But if you do not have those consoles, all four games are available on the PlayStation Network and for the PC in a downloadable content collection called The Oddboxx. This game was always there for me when I was a kid in Primary School and I've been replaying it over and over again for so many years.

I discovered this game back when I was in Primary School when I would play it round my neighbour Lewis's house with his brother Tom as well (this is a different Lewis to the one I never shut up about or hang around with). We would replay this over and over again and not really advance as far as I am capable of after a year or two of concentrating and patience. We even found Cheat codes online and I'd write them inside my booklet and we'd try then out as well. This all continues into the 2nd game which we played as well and did all the same mucking about.

You can tell my game is old because of the poor state that the game case has survived to this date. Some butthead stepped on my case and cracked it's cover in half (the case now just falls apart and I haven't gotten round to taping it up again). But I guess it adds vintage to this retro treasure of mine despite never getting round to ordering another one or another case... Oh well.

The graphics look poor but they are actually really unique. The effort went more into the eye opening backgrounds per sector in every level seeing as this is a 2D side-scrolling platform game (like Super Mario Bros). The backgrounds show off a horizon/ far out look at the world since we only see a side scrolling close up all the time. The layout reminds me of Limbo not in relation to dark atmosphere (Oddworld is not as creepy and monotone) but more of the whole guidance through numerous puzzles with infinite lives.
The colour is fairly bright and sometimes dark for character sprites and artwork, it helps gives off a dystopian atmosphere since outside, it's not anymore safe or pleasant than the plant.
The regions held much mystery and grabbed my attention from seeing these areas full of nature and full of fast and scary monsters who chased Abe like he was a delicacy.

I still get chills from the music from that opening cutscene, it was spooky and definitely gave off the message that RuptureFarms was definitely not a nice place to be at. Plus the second the "Slogs" (Slig's guard dogs) woke up, they growled loudly and made me jump as the chase music began.
But to make up for all the creepiness some of the cutscenes were actually pretty funny thanks to the added in comedy sound effects (like the ones that are played in cartoons), for example the one where Abe falls off a cliff.
As for sound effects, every step, jump, climb and speech that Abe or any character performs, they are all perfectly synced to the actions and make the game flawless.

I liked the cinematics, they really remind me that I'm playing from a side view only but the world is just as 3D as our own. Abe's story is special and treats him as a saviour than a hero in a way thanks to soon being tasked to help all 99 Mudokons escape from their horrible and unseen fate.
And with every cinematic sequence in the story, Abe continues to narrate in a rhythmic tone which even to a young kid like me, I understood it well. And the story evolves into him having a purpose instead of just running from his dreadful date.

This game overall was completely different to anything I played at the age of 9, since the main character can only speak to everyone in order to help himself advance. Abe could say things like "Hello", "Follow Me", "Wait" and "I don't know" (very heroic words compared to saying "Greetings, fellow Mudokon, might I have assistance from thee?"). In order to save his fellow co-workers, he'd need to lead them to a Bird Portal and chant to open it and they'd run to freedom. But if they perished somehow, that was it for them, no retries.

It's interesting that compared to games nowadays and nostalgic games from our childhood, this stands out but also relates to generic games, if that makes sense. Like how there is violence but it's not from an over exaggerated, adrenaline fuelled and maybe less aggressive take from playing the shooter games that are played across the globe. I like how this little beauty is on my shelf and I am a fan of something sorta underrated when actually it's special.
At first the game really creeped me out due to how quickly the enemies chased after Abe when spotted and sometimes your surroundings were so dark that all you could see were silhouettes with glowing eyes in the darkness.

The controls and gameplay is a bit rusty since it's fairly slow (not glitchy or anything) just a slow pace which makes it easier but also makes it challenging. The voice control is done by holding down on the L1 button and using the Triangle, Square, X and Circle to give out commands to your fellow Mudokons. The D-Pad is your way of moving left and right and climbing. The Triangle button makes you hop (when held down with R2, you can run and jump). Also by holding down on the L2 and pressing the Triangle or X button, Abe would whistle which is essential to learn and remember during several moments where if you screw the song up, your dead (boy was that frustrating). Most importantly, the Chant ablity happens when you hold down both L1 and R1 or L2 and R2.

The Chanting ability was cool as it worked as a way to possess your enemies, unlock mysteries in the world and it helped Abe out a whole lot as it allowed you to make the Sligs bend to your control before making them explode or lead them to their doom. It's good that the hero and his race do have a mystic power that makes them a strong creature whilst under oppression. If Abe died, fell, got shot or eaten he would reincarnate (he turns into a flock of birds and then reappears good as new) which is good since it allowed even intermediate players to continue again and again. I can reassure you that you won't be seeing a "Game Over" screen, just unlimited access to trying again until you get it right.
And don't worry, the beginning has instructions on the banners to help teach you how to survive your journey to salvation.

The game's events really took Abe on quite the journey. You had to go through a Treacherous Temples in 2 separate territories "the forests of Paramonia" and "the deserts of Scrabania", filled with Paramites and Scrabs (the creatures that RuptureFarms had been harvesting into snacks) whom were native to these opposite lands. It was like stepping out of the safe zone and into the wilderness where everything wants to eat you without hesitation. And only after completing the two temples would Abe receive the power to return to RuptureFarms and save the rest of his friends. Something I found particularly weird was that if Abe was knocked over he would fly in your direction to his death, which make me think how this game might have looked if it was in 3D.

And after all this time, it has now been re-booted in 3D HD under the name New 'n' Tasty which I've watched videos on YouTube and admire it's colourful restoration. But I'm not particularly fond of it 100% due to several factors such as the narration sounding less sad, the sectors have all been blended and we see so much more on screen compared to the classic box view as if we were looking at a Gameboy screen. And also the controls looked more flawless and Abe's speed was less step-by-step and more fast which isn't to my liking sadly.

But I admit the backgrounds especially in Scrabania and Stockyards look amazing.

Depending on how many Mudokons you rescued in the game, you would see a Good or a Bad ending. Karma is the basis of the game and levels out how the ending will turn out, as not doing the good thing means karma will come back and bite you in the ass! It is also important to note that the good ending is canonical. Also, if you received that awful Bad ending, don't worry because it's not the end or Game Over for you. You actually get to start again from a certain point in order to rescue more Mudokons and this time get the Good ending! Just make sure you save over 50 out of the 99 if you want the Good ending!
This was a theme that continued for the next two games in the series.

So that's one of the Playstation treasures on my shelf that I can still get a kick out of each time the disk goes into my PS2. Do any of you have a game or few that's dear to your heart? I feel mine is under appreciated or lacks the spotlight compared to many Playstation classics but I feel proud if I am a fan of something different.
I hope you will take a look at this game or research about the entire series or world on the Wiki page which I spent a long time on back in Secondary school when I was bored or curious to learn more about the series after playing the 2 games on Playstation 1.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed this little number. There's a few more posts to slowly appear on here and one is a 3 part Land Before Time nostalgia trip about the following 3 sequels after the original. I want to write up that asap and then mention one or two Anime's before getting round to my important Primary School post where I talk more about my Aspergers and explain how the following posts before then have tied into comforting me back then.
On a more positive and life changing note, only 2 more weeks till I start my new job!